Stage King Dhiraj Rai

Awarded with the prestigious Koili DeviPuraskar, Nepali singer Dhiraj Rai is also known as the ‘stage king’ and ‘Nepali Michael Jackson’ for starting the dancing and singing style of Michael Jackson in Nepal. He started the trend during the time when people used to sit tight and sing songs and he was also asked by his seniors to either sing or dance. One who is capable of presenting himself in the stage way better than most of the Nepali artists, he is also a Lecturer of English language and an overseer.

After completing his graduation in engineering in 2053, he started working as an overseer and after completing Master’s in English Literature, he decided to become a lecturer in order to share the knowledge he gained with his students. Although he is involved into three different fields, his first preference and priority is always in music. Although musicians and singers in Nepal are believed to have a hard life, financially, he states that those who are ‘on demand’ on stages, can sustain by making music as the payment varies from one stage show to another, however, to be able to entertain the crowd and the audience is also important and challenging.

He was attracted and interested into music from his childhood and as he grew up, he continued his passion along with other profession meant for sustaining his life. He had started his career into music with his song luki luki but from the recording of that song to the present day, he has come across various obstacles and becoming what he is today, in the music industry, wasn’t a piece of cake. He did not have money for the recording of his first song so he had to sell the pair of shoes he wore. When that was not enough, he added his pocket money to it and suffered from gastric as he skipped lunch for months for saving money. He also used to paste his posters during the night as others would have recognized him during the day.

He has also saved a life of a kidney patient who had lost both his kidneys. The death of his aunt (father’s sister) due to lack of money had deep effect on him and when he met the patient Dhan Kumar Lama, he felt the need to save him. So, he performed at various places and collected around five lakh rupees that helped in his kidney transplant. For the singer who has spend around two decades in the music industry, Dhiraj Rai is popular among his fans as ‘stage king’ and ‘Nepali Michael Jackson’.